


On Board

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [35]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Artists, Caretaking, Courting Rituals, Food, M/M, Pre-Slash, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24064567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for Snacks prompt:Stargate Atlantis, Evan Lorne +/ any, putting together a charcuterie/cheese board
Relationships: Evan Lorne/Rodney McKay
Series: Bite Sized Fic 2020 [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610332
Comments: 23
Kudos: 46
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020





	On Board

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [На доске](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29109405) by [WTF Drink And Bite 2021 (DrinkAndBite)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrinkAndBite/pseuds/WTF%20Drink%20And%20Bite%202021)



> **Edited to add:** I made a little mistake in here, friends. I wrote Evan having issues with pate, when I meant foie gras (which isn't something that generally finds its way on a charcuterie board, to my knowledge). Neither I nor Evan have anything against pate. ::grins::

Evan enjoyed having time in the kitchens after hours. There was only one Marine on duty to make sure the Mess stayed stocked with fresh coffee, sandwiches, and snacks, and most people coming through were on their way somewhere else, either patrols or back to the lab for a late night.

He’d always enjoyed cooking and baking, seeing that as another artistic expression like painting or sketching. There was art in a well-prepared and plated dish, a mixture of ingredients that offered specific tasting experiences. Evan didn’t get to indulge in culinary art as much as he would’ve liked.

At the moment he was putting together a charcuterie board.

The counters were covered in an array of ingredients, some Earth-based and others gathered from around the Pegasus galaxy. They’d all go on the large butcher block board, each item carefully arranged so that the whole board was both pleasing to the eye but also subtly indicated possible combinations of flavors and textures.

Evan loosely rolled the thinly-sliced meats first. Mortadella, which he’d specially ordered and received on the last _Daedalus_ supply run. A cured pork-like tenderloin from the pig-like animals farmed on the prickly bush planet. Salted and air-dried beef, which Evan had processed himself.

Next came a smoked sausage, from a group of monks on M22-9T7. It was both sharp and a little sweet, and Evan put a whole length of it on the board to be cut as desired with the included knife.

The small ramekin of brown jam was something Evan had learned to make from his grandmother. The spread was made from the duck-like fowl they’d found on the planet with the jumping snakes. Evan had slowly cooked the meat in fat until it was nice and tender, then shredded it and seasoned it until it turned into a savory spread. Pâté was more commonly used, but Evan didn’t approve of how the animals were treated in order to make it.

There were several different types of cheese, some firm, some soft, some mild, some strong. Evan was no cheesemaker – he’d never had an interest in learning when he was growing up on the commune – but one of the linguists was and so almost all the cheese they had was made in Atlantis with native ingredients. Evan sliced everything but the really soft cheese, which he left in a wedge.

Lightly toasted slivers of bread, crack-berry jam (named such by Colonel Sheppard, who’d developed an instant fondness for the sweet-tart-slightly spicy stuff), olives, Evan’s tava bean hummus, two varieties of mustard (one sweet, one spicy), a thick but light tormack paste, slices of non-citrus Pegasus fruits that were being grown in the Atlantis greenhouse, and a small ramekin of Corporal Jeong’s kimchi.

Once everything was on the board, Evan made some minor adjustments and sprinkled a little salt on the tormack. When he was pleased with the final product, he slipped a bottle of ruus wine and a bottle of sweet fizzy berry juice into a mesh bag, slung the bag over his shoulder, grabbed up the board, and headed for the nearest transporter.

“I thought you could use a snack,” he said when he walked into the lab.

Rodney looked up from his computer, focusing in on the charcuterie board with laser precision. Radek grinned. 

“Major. What a lovely surprise.”

“What is that?” Rodney asked, getting out of his chair and coming in for a closer look.

“Charcuterie,” Miko said. She cleared a spot on the nearest flat surface and took the bag from Evan. “It’s beautiful, Major.”

“Everything on here is safe for you to eat, Dr. McKay,” Evan said.

Rodney looked pleased, going in for a piece of cheese. “Is this the stuff Dr. Whatsis made?”

“Dr. Wallace,” Radek corrected. “Major, will you stay to share this with us?”

Evan had nothing else pressing, so he stayed. He answered any questions they had about the items on the board and where they came from. No-one asked why he’d made them the fancy snack, but they were very grateful. Even Rodney.

“You, uh. You make these often?”

“Not too often. But any time you want one, I can put it together for you.”

“I may take you up on that,” Rodney said.

Evan certainly hoped he would.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** Full disclosure – I have no personal experience with charcuterie. Luckily there are plenty of helpful websites out there with suggestions for how to assemble one. I thought this would be a thing Evan would excel at with his attention to detail. Also, it was fun to show off a mixture of Pegasus and Earth foods and demonstrate how some of the expedition members are adding their own food-making skills into the mix. The hint of McLorne at the end was for my lovely prompter, who digs the Evan/Rodney vibe.


End file.
